Almost PerfecT

Almost PerfecT

It was the week after Christmas, and Jacob was pacing through the house aimlessly. Christmas hadn't gone exactly as he'd hoped. The present that he really wanted - the one he'd hinted about to everyone - he didn't get. There'd been a good deal of tension with some other members of the family on Christmas Day, and he was feeling generally rotten.

As he paced about the family room, he paused in front of the nativity set that sat on the shelf. It's roughly carved figures were made of Olive wood from Bethlehem. He had purchased it because the unpolished simplicity of the design seemed appropriate to the meaning of the season, but he hadn't really looked at it for a very long time. What caught his eye was the palm tree overlooking the manger. He knew that there were palm trees in Bethlehem and not Christmas trees like he was used to, but it struck him somewhat funny this time. As he looked out the window at the snow on the ground and then to the other end of the room where their Christmas tree still stood, he started to think back on all the Christmas trees that had been a part of his life.

When he was a child, his family always went out and bought a large, perfectly-shaped, long-needled pine tree which they would bring home and place in their perfectly kept living room. They rarely used their living room except on special occasions, and Christmas was one of those exceptions. Jacob loved being a part of choosing the tree and decorating it. Just knowing that their perfect tree was sitting in the corner of the living room meant that Christmas was going to be the way it was supposed to be.

His family always opened their presents on Christmas Eve, and then on Christmas Day they'd go to his aunt and uncle's house for dinner. One year he opened his presents and discovered a genuine Gilbert chemistry set. It had wonderfully smelly chemicals; litmus paper; a mortar and pestle; and best of all, there was a rack filled with long, crystal-clear, glass test tubes. Of course there was also a test tube cleaner. It was a simple brush made by taking a wire, looping it at the top, putting course, black bristles in place, and then twisting the wire to hold the bristles. Over and over, he practiced cleaning his test tubes with the brush since he wasn't allowed to really play with any of the chemicals that night.

The next morning, they went to his aunt and uncle's house for Christmas Day. They walked in the back door and into the kitchen. No one ever used the front door at their house. As they walked into the living room, Jacob stopped dead in his tracks. His mouth fell open; his knees locked in place. In front of him stood their brand new, artificial Christmas tree - one of those very early varieties where realism had not been a design consideration. The only thing that came to his mind was, "Why would anyone want to hang their Christmas ornaments from a thing made out of enormous, green test tube cleaners?" It wasn't until he noticed the reactions of those around him that he realized that he hadn't simply thought the words - they had formed on his lips, and he had spoken them as well. He did manage to get through the rest of the day, uncomfortably; but that was the year that he learned that Christmas wasn't always perfect.

Many years later, he and his fiancé were going to visit her parents during the Christmas season. As they were arriving, her father had just finished putting their Christmas tree in its stand in the corner of the living room. It was a real tree, but it was one of those transparent varieties - the kind with just enough branches to be called a tree and just enough needles to be called an evergreen; but if you shook it really hard, half of the needles would fall off. What Jacob didn't know yet was that her father went out and bought one of those by choice every year. He always considered it a challenge to bring home a tree like that and make it beautiful.

So they pulled up that day, got out of the car and went up to the house. They went in the front door which led right into the living room. As he took his first step into the room, he saw the undecorated "tree" sitting in the corner. The only thought that came to his mind was, "Why would anyone want to hang their ornaments on a pitiful little stick like that?" It wasn't until he noticed the looks on the faces of those around him that he realized that he hadn't simply thought the words. They had formed on his lips and he had spoken them as well.

He did make it through that day as well, uncomfortably. He even went on to marry the girl. When the next Christmas came and it was time for them to go out and buy their own Christmas tree, he made sure that they picked out a large, perfectly shaped, long-needle pine tree. They brought it home, put it in their living room, and each year did exactly the same thing. The trees looked great on the home movies, and every year they could look back and say, "Wasn't that a beautiful tree?" They could never identify which year it was on the movies by the tree because each one always looked the same, but every year they could say, "Wasn't that a beautiful tree?"

Eventually children were added to the scene, and new kinds of presents began to show up under the perfectly shaped tree. In time the children were old enough that they too joined in choosing their perfect tree. One year as they were preparing to perform their annual ritual, it was just a few days before Christmas. Jacob was a purist. He never went out and bought his tree too soon because he didn't believe in putting it up until right before Christmas.

They packed the family in the car and drove off to the usual place where they always purchased their tree. As they drove up and got out of the car, they noticed that there weren't any trees - a few needles on the ground and a couple of broken branches - but no trees. When they inquired they were informed by the proprietor that with all the artificial trees, last year he had over bought, lost money, and this year decided that he would buy only as many as he could be sure he'd sell. And of course it was only a few days before Christmas, so he'd already sold out.

That was a shame, since it meant that they would have to go some place else this year; but that shouldn't be a big problem. They got in the car and went to another place and were told the same story about artificial trees and overstocking and losing money, about ordering not as many, about it being only a few days before Christmas, and of course about being sold out. So on to another - sold out. Sold out. Sold out.

Until the only place in town was the one place he never would have thought of going - the expensive place. This year he had no choice, and he knew that at least the expensive place would have Christmas trees. They drove up, walked through the door. At the expensive place, the trees were INside. As they walked in, they noticed beautiful wreathes hanging on the wall, pine roping along another wall, some boxes of artificial Christmas trees still to be unpacked leaning against yet another wall, but there were no real Christmas trees. The clerk came out and explained that it was only a few days before Christmas, and he was sure they wouldn't be getting another shipment. He was really sorry ...

But wait. There was one tree that he was sure no one had purchased. He led them down an aisle and around a pile of boxes. There, off in a corner, lying flat on the ground, was a pitiful, little Christmas tree. Almost a twig of a Christmas tree. The man picked it up, gently, and stood it there being careful not to shake it. It was one of those transparent varieties: small, a few branches, some needles, not very perfectly shaped. It had one thing going for it - it was the only tree in town.

So Jacob got out his money, paid an exorbitant price for the little tree, gently picked it up, and headed for their station wagon. It was the station wagon with the luggage rack on top where they always tied down their huge tree because it would never fit inside. He opened the back door of the station wagon. Curled up on the floor of the back of the wagon were two coils of rope brought along for the purpose of tying down the tree. He gently laid the little tree in the back next to the rope. It fit very easily.

The children had been amazingly quiet up to this point, but once inside the car they couldn't hold back their tears anymore. Their words came also. "Christmas is ruined!" "It isn't even a tree." "Why did we even bother!" After the short ride home, Jacob got the tree out of the car and brought it into the house. He was feeling even worse than the children were.

It was at this point that his wife decided to tell them a story. Her father - the one with the transparent Christmas trees - had passed away just a few years earlier. She sat them down. She looked at them right in the eye, and she said, "Your Grandpa, every year, went out and bought a tree that looked just like that. He didn't have to buy one like that. He chose to buy one that looked just like that. And he'd bring that tree home. And he'd put lights on it. And he'd place tinsel on it and little icicles over the branches. And from it he would hang timeless ornaments that were filled with memories. And he'd love that tree. And when he was done with it, it was beautiful. And we're going to do the same thing with this one."

The children had listened to her speak. From the look on the faces and the way they were shaking their heads, it was obvious they hadn't bought it. Fortunately they were at least willing to go along with the process and cooperate in the effort. Jacob got out the lights. He only needed one of the three strings that he usually used. They put some tinsel around it and hung icicles on it. They got out their own timeless ornaments and carefully hung them on the branches. They didn't want to shake it too much. When all the ornaments were hung, they got out the star; and Jacob placed the star way on the "top" of the tree. Then they turned out the lights in the house and got ready to plug it in for the first time to see what it would look like.

As the lights were plugged in, the children were the first ones to make the pronouncement. "It's beautiful. It's just like Grandpa's."

In the years that followed, they had quite a variety of Christmas trees; but they never worried as much after that if the tree was "perfect." And when they looked back on previous Christmases, the only tree they ever talked about was that scrawny little transparent stick that had been transformed by memories and love into the most beautiful Christmas tree they had ever had.

Occasionally it takes a very long time for the meaning of a past event to finally filter into one's mind. As Jacob stood there on that day looking at his less than perfect Nativity set, at the palm tree overlooking the manger, thinking back on the past week, he realized that pathetic Christmas trees weren't the only things in need of transformation. He reached out and picked up the very roughly carved infant. A smile crept over his face for the first time that day, and he thought to himself that if a scrawny little Christmas tree could be transformed by love, there was hope for him too.

That realization a few days after Christmas proved to be the best Christmas present Jacob ever had. You might even say that it was almost perfect.

The End

Jym Kruse of Fremont, Nebraska, is a professional storyteller and member of the National Storyteller's Association. ©1995 Jym Kruse.

This page last updated 20 October 2012

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